Is a long commute worth it to live in the country?

[nep321]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

Cities/Metros tend to expand and become urban sprawls as we cannot efficiently long-term plan in this country.

So what you once thought was the "country" can quickly become "city" in a few years. Secondly if your area doesn't become part of the city it doesn't mean that the area you traverse through will not so a 40 min commute can turn into an 80 min commute rather quickly.

The ideal scenario would be to find existing mature neighborhoods that have a "country" feel but are already established and relatively close to the employment base/hubs.

That is what I plan to do. My commute time limit will be 25 minutes max when I look to buy a house. I figure, since owning a home is a responsibility and requires time to do maintenance and care, I would greatly benefit from the hours of time saved on commuting each week that could be better used to take care of the home and do other things I like to do like exercise, play video games, and just relax.

There are plenty of places within that time limit of downtown that are quiet and have lots of trees.

[Serious Conversation]

I wouldn't do it.

You live in a much denser city than I do with less outdoor stuff right around you, but I bought a condo last year in the city I then worked in. It was within five minutes of the Cherokee National Forest, so there was more around me than I could shake a stick at.

My home office got transferred and my commute was about 40 minutes (27 miles) each way in the worst traffic in my region. I sold the condo, moved to the new city (which is a lot dumpier than where I was), and am glad to have the commute cut out. I'll go over to the other city to socialize or do a bit of hiking once a week or so during the warmer months, but I'm not yoked to all the extra time daily.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by nep321

That is what I plan to do. My commute time limit will be 25 minutes max when I look to buy a house. I figure, since owning a home is a responsibility and requires time to do maintenance and care, I would greatly benefit from the hours of time saved on commuting each week that could be better used to take care of the home and do other things I like to do like exercise, play video games, and just relax.

There are plenty of places within that time limit of downtown that are quiet and have lots of trees.

There isnt that much time to owning a house for doing stuff. Depending on the house you'd have lawn to mow, maybe weeds to deal with but the rest is stuff you do now like cleaning, laundry and cooking.

My hub has a riding mower that costs $35 a month, he mows maybe every other week, in the summer the grass slows down